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Brian and we're on WNYC and we'll take the last few minutes of today's show to look back at some of the literary gems that have graced our bookshelves in 2024.

My guest for this is Gilbert Cruz, editor of the New York Times Book Review.

Here to talk about the book reviews, Ten best books of 2024, always so highly

anticipated. We'll get through this pretty quickly, but there's really something for everyone,

five fiction, five nonfiction. Gilbert, thanks for doing this. Welcome back to WNYC. Oh, it's a pleasure

to be back. And let's just dive in here. We'll see if we can cut through all ten in brief.

The very first work of fiction on the list is Miranda July's all fours.

What made this book one of the best of the year?

I mean, one of the things that we hope sort of distinguishes at least the five fiction books is a sense of surprise.

We all read a lot of books. These books have to be great. They have to surprise us.

And all fours by Miranda July was utterly surprising. It's about a middle-aged female artist who

sort of blows up her life, has a bit of a mid-left crisis as she approaches paramedopause.

And it was just, it was a delight

to read. It's a book for adults. It's about being in a marriage. It's about desire. It's about

middle age. And it's also very funny. I'm very dubious when someone tells me a book is funny.

I just loved it. Number two. I don't think you rank them, right is just five no we did no we did not rank them

yeah so just number two out of my mouth is dolly alderton's good material you describe alderton as

a latter day nora effron so you so you're still on the funny beat here a little bit she is a british

author a newspaper columnist,

and this book is about a sort of a middling stand-up comedian who has just been dumped by his

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